Throwback Ad Thursday: School Rumble

A print ad for volume 3 of School Rumble on DVD, due out in stores on October 2nd, 2007. Among the special features that Funimation promoted, which included interviews, textless songs, and trailers, the DVD also came with a magnet sheet.

Throwback Ad Tuesday: Witch Hunter Robin Pendant

Back in 2003 fans of Witch Hunter Robin could purchase a STN-J Orbo pendant from Asylum Anime for $35. For those who don't remember, Orbo was created from the blood of witches and used in bullets and necklaces to combat the witch threat. Out of curiosity, I did a quick Google search to see if Asylum Anime was still around, and indeed they are...though likely not selling any Witch Hunter Robin merchandise anymore.

Manga Monday: Cowboy Bebop Vol. 1 (TokyoPop)

The Cowboy Bebop manga was released in 2002 by TokyoPop and followed the "further adventures" of the Bebop cast. The manga lasted three volumes, written by Hajime Yatate and illustrated by Yutaka Nanten.

Friday Review: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

BOREDOM CAN LEAD TO THE END OF THE WORLD!

This week we look back on the hit anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Throwback Ad Thursday: Azumanga Daioh The Animation

Azumanga Daioh started out as a four-panel comedy manga in 1999, but would go on to receive the anime treatment three years later. ADV Films released the series in 2005, with 26 episodes spread out over six volumes. Volume 1 was also available in a "Collector's Edition," which included two character-themed lapel pins. ADV later repackaged the show for a "thinpak" box set in '08. Most recently, Sentai Filmworks licensed the show with plans to make it available sometime in 2016.

The Bizarre World of Bootlegs: Dragon Ball Z VCDs

 

Here are a couple images of some bootleg Dragon Ball Z VCDs. These are of the 6th and 13th movies, titled here as Attack! 1,000,000 Power Warriors and Thunder Dragon Fist. Movie #13 has decent subs, but whoever subtitled #6 took some liberties, as the subs have Vegeta repeatedly cursing like a sailor.

Throwback Ad Tuesday: G Gundam Model Kits

"Heroes Are Made, Not Born," was the header for this 2003 advertisement promoting Bandai's G Gundam line of plastic model kits. I had a few of these and they were always a blast to put together. On average, they didn't take too long to build, required no glue or paint (since the plastic pieces were already colored) and most included decals to give the mobile suits extra detail. The joints allowed for some nice action-style poses as well.

Throwback Ad Thursday! Super Dimensional Cavalry: Southern Cross

Super Dimensional Cavalry: Southern Cross is best known in North America for being used as the second Robotech story-arc, dubbed the Masters Saga. In 2003 ADV Films released all 23 uncut episodes of the Southern Cross series on a single DVD box set with the original Japanese audio and English subs.

Throwback Ad Tuesday: Yu Yu Hakusho Trading Card Game

I never got into any of the anime-based trading card games, but they were certainly popular enough for Score Entertainment to release a slew of them, including Dragon Ball Z, InuYasha, Sonic X, Case Closed, Fruits Basket, and Bleach themed sets. Between 2003 and 2005 Score produced Yu Yu Hakusho cards, which Inquest Gamer Magazine rated the "Best Trading Card Game of 2003." They garnered a large enough following that one of the rarest cards in the series sold for over $1,000 on eBay.

Monday Manga: Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan

HOLY REPRINTS, BATMAN!

More than any other superhero, Batman is the most diverse in his many incarnations. Whether it's the dark, brooding Dark Knight, or the Gothic guardian of Gotham, to the campy caped crusader of the '60s TV series, Batman has seen it all. But most fans haven't seen him in Japan! This week I'm digging into the quirky, but fun, pages of the Batman manga...

Throwback Ad Thursday: The Big O (Season 2)

An advertisement for the North American DVD release of The Big O (season 2). Though the show was a flop in Japan, it had notable success in the US, prompting Cartoon Network to co-produce a second season of the series.

Wasteland Wednesday: Tenchi Muyo! Book of Heaven Laserdisc Set

 

I'm a huge laserdisc collector. Without question, it's my favorite media format and I'll easily take them over Blu-ray, DVD, VHS, Betamax, any day. There's something about the picture of a laserdisc that gives a genuine "film" look which is lost in the heavily digitized world of high definition. This is more noticeable on live-action films, but still evident with anime as well. And, needless to say, the artwork on laserdiscs is often second-to-none.

Throwback Ad Tuesday: Dragon Ball Z Budokai (GameCube)

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai was released for the PlayStation 2 back in 2002, but the GameCube version came out a year later with a cel-shaded visual upgrade. In '02 I still didn't own a PS2 and, after seeing this ad, started counting down the days until the GameCube version became available so I'd finally get to play it. 

Gameday Sunday: Zone of the Enders HD Collection

Young boy finds giant robot, unwillingly becomes pilot of said robot, and has to use his untested combat skills to save the planet. It’s a tried and true formula associated with mecha anime, just look at Mobile Suit Gundam, Macross, and Neon Genesis Evangelion for the landmarks of the genre. It’s ironic that, considering how many mecha anime titles there are, so few are ever given worthy video game tie-ins.

Friday Review: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls (Novel)

 The Kouga Ninja Scrolls was a novel that I had wanted to read for years. So, when it was finally translated in English and published by Del Rey in 2006, I picked it up the day it hit the shelves. Did it live up to the hype?